OTHER sewing spaces

I started out sewing in my parent's basement, then on to a card table in NJ,
followed by an actual sewing cabinet in Ohio in our bedroom, then a guest
bedroom in Italy, our bedroom in Texas, a guest bedroom in Germany, the
computer room in Virginia, and now a guest bedroom in Pennsylvania. Other
places included a community center, friends' homes, several church halls,
the car, a cruise ship and my nextdoor neighbor's garage. I manage to keep
all my "stuff" in the one room, except when my buddies come to sew....then
we spread out all over the dining room and living room..

--
Alice in PA
http://community.webshots.com/user/twosonsatpsu
"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
The thread on sewing spaces has been such a joy. I love to see the places
where you create. NOW. What about the 'other' spaces you've encroached?
Where do you slip in just a little or a lot so you have room to quilt?
I've discovered that our dining room table is a great place to hide
away quite a few crib quilt size battings. On top of those, I've spread
the Christmas tree skirts that are ready to gift pretty soon.
The front foyer closet is a good place to put backing-size fabric on
hangers.
The floor of Mr. Esther's closet houses a spare serger and a 'ready to
loan' Bernina when a friend needs rescuing.
Thus far, the bathtub for the guest room and the trunk of my car are
empty.
Have you discovered another place for stretching your sewing space?
Polly

As soon as my son moved out, his room became my stash room, with the
closet doors and hall door removed to make even more room! My koala
table and Bernina is permanently set up in the dining room, with one
wall dedicated to my design wall. The book shelves in the dining room
are filled with bins, mostly, of non fabric supplies, mostly mixed
media, and photoalbum stuff. Oh, and there's a sturdy card table set
up in the living room with all my paints OR my cutting mat and rulers!

Musicmaker

I'm very lucky, no need to stretch. More space for finished quilts,
though, that would be a good thing! Sure, they pile up on the guest
bed, but where to put them when that bed has a guest? Right now, they
share the sauna with the teddy bears for the women's shelter. (Sauna
came with the house, we really should just get rid of it.)
Roberta in D

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:48:30 -0500, "Polly Esther"
wrote:

The thread on sewing spaces has been such a joy. I love to see the places
where you create. NOW. What about the 'other' spaces you've encroached?
Where do you slip in just a little or a lot so you have room to quilt?
I've discovered that our dining room table is a great place to hide away
quite a few crib quilt size battings. On top of those, I've spread the
Christmas tree skirts that are ready to gift pretty soon.
The front foyer closet is a good place to put backing-size fabric on
hangers.
The floor of Mr. Esther's closet houses a spare serger and a 'ready to
loan' Bernina when a friend needs rescuing.
Thus far, the bathtub for the guest room and the trunk of my car are
empty.
Have you discovered another place for stretching your sewing space?
Polly

Hey Kate, you really get around. LOL
Taria

Places I have sewn (with a sewing machine):
In a church
In a church hall
In the village hall
In a school hall (during rehearsals, by the light of the sewing machine
ONLY!
School classrooms not usually used for sewing
The conservatory
The upstairs landing
The dining room
In the garden

Places I currently have sewing stuff in my house:
In the sewing room/guest bedroom/library
On the landing
In the loft
In the conservatory
In the living room

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

I hand sew so have sewn

around the house
at the swimming pool
at the climbing centre
at leisure centres
at childrens parties
in the car waiting for children to come out of school
at the local play park (don't try sitting on the roundabout you get
really dizzy!)

One of the nicest places is on our group retreat at Kielder in
Northumberland, I'm off again in a couple of weeks. I'm wish that I
could go for a week like the retired ladies, but for now I enjoy a
weekend away.

I keep my extra cutting boards back under the sofa in the living room.
They stay flat and out of the light that way. Believe me, in my house,
nobody but me will ever look back under the sofa. I also have moved my
hand stitching upstairs to the good chair by the good lamp. And of
course, the equipment and thread and whatnot needs to be there where I
work in the evening. My extra sewing machines move around the house.
As long as one isn't in one place too long, nobody notices. And that
way they don't take up space in my sewing room. Of course the best one
is the sauna, which is in my sewing room (it's a great cedar inset,
fully functional -- until I threw the breaker switch for that
circuit). I keep folded fabric, stuff, wips, batting, stuff and more
stuffi n there. Including my very tiny stash of fabric for making
myself clothing. (a dream, it's only a dream ....)

Sunny

When we bought this house with its lovely studio space my husband
pointed to the door leading to the studio and said that he hoped I
would keep my "stuff" behind those doors. I try to remember that
moment and keep my stuff out of the living area of the home. . . but
those closets and cupboards are fair game.

Family room entertainment center. Antique quilts look lovely folded on
the shelf over the TV. Cabinetry below the TV originally housed Lego's
but now it holds pieced tops plus a few quilt kits and UFO's. Book
shelves either side of TV hold needlework and history of needlework
books plus my collection of quilting books from other countries.

Book shelves in living room hold history of quilting books.

Son's former bedroom (don't you love it when they finally move to
their own home!) has three work stations. My AccuCut die cutting
machine and dies finally have their own permanent place with enough
space to actually use the machine. My recently acquired treadmill is
there for daily use. The majority of my quilt pattern books are on the
shelves left behind by son. A comfortable reading chair is nearby as
space for dreaming and planning quilts. Half of the closet is stacked
with tubs of fabric. Not wanting fabric stored here to be forgotten, I
have placed full categories in this area: Christmas, African and felt.
The other half of the closet holds finished quilt tops hanging on
hangers waiting to be quilted. The top shelves hold fleece.

The other son's former bedroom must double as a guest room now that
Mom is permanently in the old guest room. But guests do not need much
space for hanging clothes and they only need two drawers at the most
to store their undies. The small chest of drawers holds my miniature
quilt collection. The tall chest holds quilt kits. The closet houses
the non-quilty bargains I buy throughout the year and hold for Charity
Christmas giving.

Quilt batting and stuffing are stored in the closet of Mom's room.
Finished quilts both old and new are folded in the armoire with a few
neatly stacked on top.

I think of the laundry room as an extension of my studio. After all it
is right next door. I do try to keep a clear path to the washer and
dryer so Dave will help with the laundry. There is often a stack of
pre-washed fabric next to the washer awaiting the iron.

When I visit friends who have downsized their homes I spend much of
the visit planning where I could stash fabric in such a small space. I
recently heard a great idea. My friend was moving her mother from the
assisted living apartment to a full care nursing facility. When my
friend thought they had removed every thing her mother pointed to the
ceiling. She told them to lift the tiles and they would find her
storage area!

Susan


On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:48:30 -0500, "Polly Esther"
wrote:

The thread on sewing spaces has been such a joy. I love to see the places
where you create. NOW. What about the 'other' spaces you've encroached?
Where do you slip in just a little or a lot so you have room to quilt?
I've discovered that our dining room table is a great place to hide away
quite a few crib quilt size battings. On top of those, I've spread the
Christmas tree skirts that are ready to gift pretty soon.
The front foyer closet is a good place to put backing-size fabric on
hangers.
The floor of Mr. Esther's closet houses a spare serger and a 'ready to
loan' Bernina when a friend needs rescuing.
Thus far, the bathtub for the guest room and the trunk of my car are
empty.
Have you discovered another place for stretching your sewing space?
Polly

A friend lives next door to a violinist with the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra. During good weather he practices in his backyard gazebo.
The neighbors don't complain. Susan

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 23:28:49 -0500, "Polly Esther"
wrote:

A gazebo? Oh Taria, how you are after my heart! Wouldn't it just be
wonderful to have a gazebo for quilting? There's a wonderful place in
Tennessee that we visit in November with several magnificent gazebos;
screened for the occasional no-see'ums, fire pits to ward off evening chill
and surrounded by beauty. AHhhh. YEs! Polly

"Taria" wrote in message
...
I kind of have stuff all over the house sort of. A lot less than I used
to. When I sewed in a
corner of the bedroom or family room there was a lot of overflow
everywhere. I have a lot
of fabric in sterilite buckets in the garage and storage sheds. I have
our bed on risers so I
can store patterns and vintage stuff there. I like fabric more than
clothes so there is some fabric
in the big bedroom walk in closet. I really am trying to corral the
inside the house stuff to the
sewing room at this point, some success some not so much. I bet fabric
could be stashed
inside the fold up sleeper sofa. Baskets used to be everywhere with
fabric. Sewing machines
and cabinets are bedside and lamp tables sometimes. I have a picture in
my mind of a gazebo
in the yard for a sewing machine to use outside. Hasn't happened yet but
you never know.
DD lives 4 miles away and is living in a big house with lots of storage
space. She has been generous
in sharing storage. There is a lot there. She hasn't done a thing with
the front room and said
I could put a long arm set up there is I used it often. I won't be doing
that but she is a good
sport to offer. : ) The idea of more stuff is dangerous. I'm curious
to hear of good stash ideas.
Taria

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
The thread on sewing spaces has been such a joy. I love to see the
places where you create. NOW. What about the 'other' spaces you've
encroached? Where do you slip in just a little or a lot so you have room
to quilt?
I've discovered that our dining room table is a great place to hide
away quite a few crib quilt size battings. On top of those, I've spread
the Christmas tree skirts that are ready to gift pretty soon.
The front foyer closet is a good place to put backing-size fabric on
hangers.
The floor of Mr. Esther's closet houses a spare serger and a 'ready to
loan' Bernina when a friend needs rescuing.
Thus far, the bathtub for the guest room and the trunk of my car are
empty.
Have you discovered another place for stretching your sewing space?
Polly

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:48:30 -0500, Polly Esther wrote
(in article ):

The thread on sewing spaces has been such a joy. I love to see the places
where you create. NOW. What about the 'other' spaces you've encroached?
Where do you slip in just a little or a lot so you have room to quilt?
I've discovered that our dining room table is a great place to hide away
quite a few crib quilt size battings. On top of those, I've spread the
Christmas tree skirts that are ready to gift pretty soon.
The front foyer closet is a good place to put backing-size fabric on
hangers.
The floor of Mr. Esther's closet houses a spare serger and a 'ready to
loan' Bernina when a friend needs rescuing.
Thus far, the bathtub for the guest room and the trunk of my car are
empty.
Have you discovered another place for stretching your sewing space?
Polly




Hmm, right now my machines are being stored on the sun room floor, I have a
laundry basket of started projects and some supplies in the dining room. The
dining room is also where my hand quilting frame always is.

I have a small sewing basket under the end table next to the couch and
usually have a handwork sitting on the table.

In the communal laundry room and our storage space I currently have another
laundry basket of fabric, and unbelievably large pile of tubs and baskets
holding supplies that came out of the flooded sewing room, my dress form,
three little sets of rolling drawers with thread, embroidery supplies, and
some of my stamping/scrapbooking supplies, and my ruler rack for my large
rulers.

Everything else is still in the unusable studio, but topsy turvy and
sometimes impossible to find.

I have a wall-mounted ironing board in the studio, but am currently pressing
on a little tabletop board that sits on top of the guest room bed.

Maureen

On Oct 19, 4:06*pm, Sarah Dixon wrote:
I hand sew so have sewn

around the house
at the swimming pool
at the climbing centre
at leisure centres
at childrens parties
in the car waiting for children to come out of school
at the local play park (don't try sitting on the roundabout you get
really dizzy!)

One of the nicest places is on our group retreat at Kielder in
Northumberland, I'm off again in a couple of weeks. *I'm wish that I
could go for a week like the retired ladies, but for now I enjoy a
weekend away.

Group retreat at Kielder? What a lovely idea. Is that a specialist
group? Is it your particular group? A group retreat might be just
what I need right now.

Nel